The Dragon with Many Heads, and the Dragon with

An envoy of the Porte Sublime boasts before the imperial German court that the troops commanded by his master’s firman are stronger than the German army. A Dutch attendant answers that their prince has more than one dependant who maintains an army at his own expense. The Turk acknowledges the power of the emperor’s servants and tells of two dragons he once saw. The first seemed terrifying: a hundred hydra heads darted through a hedge on a rocky ledge. Yet its body could not follow unless it were divided into at least a hundred parts. Then he saw another dragon, with one head leading a hundred tails, pass entirely through the hedge as a compact, irresistible living wedge. He compares the first creature to the emperor’s force and the united dragon to his own.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Political Allegory, Didactic Poetry · 412 words

First lines

An envoy of the Porte Sublime, / As history says, once on a time, / Before th' imperial German court[1] / Did rather boastfully report, / The troops commanded by his master's firman, / As being a stronger army than the German: / To which replied a Dutch attendant, / 'Our prince has more than one dependant / Who keeps an army at his own expense. ' / The Turk, a man of sense, / Rejoin'd, 'I am aware / What power your emperor's servants share. / It brings to mind a tale both strange and true, / A thing which once, myself, I chanced to view. / I saw come darting through a hedge, / Which fortified a rocky ledge, / A hydra's hundred heads; and in a trice / My blood was turning into ice. / But less the harm than terror, -- / The body came no nearer; / Nor could, unless it had been sunder'd, / To parts at least a hundred. / While musing deeply on this sight, / Another dragon came to light, / Whose single head avails / To lead a hundred tails: / And, seized with juster fright, / I saw him pass the hedge, -- / Head, body, tails, -- a wedge / Of living and resistless powers. -- / The other was your emperor's force; this ours. '[2]

• Open reader

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Genres

• Fable — The work is a concise La Fontaine fable that uses symbolic dragons and a brief anecdote to convey a political and moral lesson about unity, centralized command, and military power.
• Political Allegory — The many-headed hydra represents the fragmented forces of the Holy Roman Emperor, while the one-headed dragon with many tails represents the Ottoman ruler's unified military authority.
• Didactic Poetry — Written in verse, the poem instructs readers through a memorable comparison, presenting political wisdom in an entertaining narrative form.
• Satirical Poetry — The envoy's boast and the Turk's pointed reply gently satirize imperial pretensions, exposing the weakness of a politically divided power.

Tags

French fable · verse narrative · seventeenth-century literature · Holy Roman Empire · Ottoman Empire · diplomatic rivalry · military power · imperial politics · German court · Turkish envoy · Dutch attendant · boastfulness

What this Textopian page supports

The Dragon with Many Heads, and the Dragon with Many Tails is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1678 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Fable
• Author: Jean de La Fontaine
• Date: 1678 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Fable, Political Allegory, Didactic Poetry, Satirical Poetry, Animal Fantasy
• Length: 412 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Dragon with Many Heads, and the Dragon with Many Tails by Jean de La Fontaine
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
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More by Jean de La Fontaine

• To Monseigneur the Dauphin (1668)
• The Grasshopper and the Ant (1668)
• The Raven and the Fox (1668)
• The Frog that Wished to be as Big as the Ox (1668)
• The Two Mules (1668)
• The Wolf and the Dog (1668)
• The Heifer, the Goat, and the Sheep, in Company with the Lion (1668)
• The Wallet (1668)
• All works by Jean de La Fontaine